TMNT 2012: What Might Have Been
by Coooool123
Summary: Ever wonder what might have happened had the turtles ran from Splinter instead of stayed? This is the story of what might have been. My first story! Reviews greatly appreciated! Rated K plus just in case, I have no idea how it works. XD
1. Prologue

Prologue

Four brothers. Four different, strange, green brothers.

Sure, we know they were mutated, along with their father, a human-turned-rat, only referred to as Master Splinter. But what if, instead of Splinter keeping the turtles, they ran away soon after mutation, to be adopted by humans and cared for in the world above ground? This is the story of what might have been.

"Joy, did you hear that?" A man stared at his wife, who was caressing their newborn son, Joey.

"Neil, I didn't hear anything," the woman named Joy reassured her husband. Neil, however, shook his head.

"I'm certain I heard something. It was coming from the back door."

"I'm sure it was just the wind." However, determined to satisfy his suspicions, he went to the back door. Hitting the porch light, he peered out through the screen door of their simple, two-story home in downtown New York. He saw nothing. Neil was about to close the door, when he saw something green poking at the edge of his visibility. He opened the door, curious. It was then that he realized that the green thing was a hand. A small, green, three fingered hand. Grabbing a flashlight near the back door, he shone the light into the yard. Lying face down was a giant green turtle, the same size as a toddler. It appeared to have fainted.

"Joy," Neil called simply, "You're never going to believe this."

"I think we've just gotten another family member."

Elsewhere, another turtle ran through the alleyways. He stopped for a moment, confused. He had no idea where, who, or what, he was.

With a frustrated groan, he collapsed onto the doorstep of an alley door. Exhausted, he immediately fell asleep.

Later that night, he would be discovered, and his life would change forever.

A third turtle was also running through the alleys at the same time. He heard footsteps following him. The only thought in his mind was to go. He kept running, even when the footsteps faded from his hearing. He had managed to run to the richer part of New York, and, unknown to him, collapsed in the bushes of a kind, elderly widow. Like his brothers, he fell asleep soon after stopping his exhausted run.

-  
The final brother had managed to get to the streets, running towards the port section of the city, the opposite direction his brothers had gone.

He hit the poorer part of town within a few minutes. Rundown buildings lined the streets. This turtle managed to get closer to the docks, before finally stopping outside a three-story building. He was the only one of the four conscious when he was discovered. A woman in her thirties opened the door, gasping at first at the strange boy before gently leading him in.

The supposed unstoppable force had been broken in one night.

And the rat?

He left to live in the sewers, guilty about losing his sons. And promising himself that he would find them one day. As soon as he was ready. And as soon as they were, too.


	2. Chapter 1: New Names, New Lives

Joey, where's Micah?"

"I think he's still asleep, mom."

"Could you go get him? We're having pancakes, and you know how he loves those."

"No problem," the ten-year-old nodded, stuffing a pancake into his mouth as he rushed up the stairs.

"MIKE! PANCAKES!"

"Huu-wha?" his turtle brother woke up with a start. He looked around as his brother entered the room they shared.

"Dude, it's Saturday…" Micah moaned, "why'd ya have to wake me up?"

"Pancakes! Plus, there's a new superhero special in fifteen minutes!"

Micah glared at his brother. "Well, why didn't ya say so?"

-

"Good haul, Ralph."

The turtle grinned as he received praise from his father, who looked favourably at his best thief. The other members, six adults, glared in envy at the golden watch that gleamed in the dusty sunlight as it hung from the leader's hands.

"Glad you like it," he snickered, "the old man didn't even see me."

"You all should learn a thing or two from my son," the man chastised the others, who simply stood in silence.

Ralph adjusted his dark red, square sunglasses. "Quit being so lazy and get a good haul already," he added to his father's disapproval. All the others had managed to get was a purse someone had left on a dumpster, a beat up and broken cellphone in the park, and a bag of chips. He, in one night, managed to snag a wallet filled with money off the sidewalk, a subway card, a Gameboy off of a dumpster, an ipod, two sold-out concert tickets, a bicycle, and the watch.

The man rubbed Ralph's head. "Get some sleep, boy," he nodded, "You can have the night off. The rest of you, get your heads in the game. I'm going to cash this stuff in, then we'll split the haul according to my say-so." The other men grumbled at this, knowing that because they had done poorly, they would get little.

"'Night, Ralph," his father smiled as he and the others left the secret hideout.

"'Night, dad!" Ralph replied, before curling up on the torn couch and falling asleep.

-

"Leonard, dear," an older, female voice called.

"Coming, mother!" the third turtle replied to his mother. As he came to the table, he received a glare from his older sister, Abigail.

"It's about time you showed up, _pet_," she spat out the word.

"Abigail! I've taught you better than that," the elderly woman, Jessica, scolded her granddaughter. Ever since her parents had died, Jessica had been caring for Abigail. She had taken in Leonard when Abigail was only two years old, and the girl showed merciless hatred towards her adopted brother.

"But, mother," she argued, "It doesn't change the fact that he's a turtle. Turtles are pets. Thus, I'm using the correct terminology." Her gaze went to the space comic book in her brother's hands.

"Oh no," she moaned, "You're still not attached to those dumb comics, are you, Len?"

"Space rangers isn't dumb," Len replied, "It's a great comic. One day, I'm going to lead my own team of space heroes, and they'll listen to everything I'll say, and we'll save everyone from alien invaders!"

Jessica smiled at her son's imagination, as Abigail scoffed. "Oh, grow up, Len! You can barely write without mother's help."

"That's not my fault!" He held up his free three-fingered hand.

"Freak."

"Meanie."

"Loser."

"Priss."

"What did you call me?" the twelve-year-old growled, stabbing her fork into her Belgium waffle as she glared menacingly.

Her brother grinned as he realized that he had gotten to her. Then, he said it nice and slow, to anger her further.

"You're a prissy girly girl!" he laughed. Abigail stood up from the table.

"You're turtle stew!" she shrieked furiously. Len rushed out of the room, laughing some more, as Abigail attempted to catch him. Jessica simply continued to eat.

"Ouch! Dumb plant… Len, get back here!"

Moments later, Len rushed into the dining room, easily avoiding the furniture, while Abigail panted, trying to catch up while avoiding the chairs and cabinets.

"I thought turtles were supposed to be slow!" she gasped, "Len, live up to your namesake!"

"I'm a turtle, but you're a snail!" Len called from the kitchen. This angered Abigail  
further.

"You're dead meat, is what you are!" She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, before rushing after her brother, nearly crashing into the china cabinet.

"Careful when you're running to kill your brother, dear!" Jessica called after her.

-

"Dannie, their finally lettin' us go te da school programs!" a boy raced into the bedroom.

A turtle looked up at him. "That's great, Richard!"

"Quit bein' so formal," Richard scoffed, "It's Rich. Hate Richard. Makes me sound like dem posh kids at da rich part o' town. N' I thought ye'd be happy, brainiac. Yer all about school n' learnin' n' stuff. We go next week, Thursday, te see how it looks like. Den, if everythin' checks out, we'll be schoolers in no time!"

"Wow, a real school!" Dan mumbled dreamily, "I wonder what they'll teach us?"

"I heard it's da basics," Rich replied, "You know, readings, writings, arithermertics. Maybe some sciences if we're lucky."

"Science!" Dan sighed, even more dreamily than before, "Oh, how I adore the intricate study of science!"

"Big words!" Rich mimicked, "Oh, how ya a-door confusin' me wit dem big words!" He shook his head, mocking his friend.

"I'm sorry, Rich," Dan apologized, "You know how I feel about science. And technology, and math, and history…"

"I get it, ya like learnin', ya geek," Rich shook his head once more, "But speakin' o' technologies, whatcha workin' on dis time?"

"A solar-powered computer," Dan explained, "that I can use to defend myself against miscreants!"

Rich stared at him blankly. Dan sighed.

"A sun robot to protect against bullies."

"Ohhhh," Rich nodded, "Why didn't ya say so?"

"I did, I just… oh, never mind."

"But won't the odders jus' come and break it, like they do with all yer odder stuff?"

"That may be so," Dan acknowledged, "But I enjoy building things as much as I enjoy using them."

"Yer a weird one, Daniel."

"Hey, who's being formal now?"


	3. Chapter 2: Nearing Summer's End

Author's Note:

There are spoilers to the first episode in this part! If you haven't seen the first episode, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Though they aren't very obvious...

-

"Oh, dude, that was awesome!" Micah laughed with his brother as they watched the end credits to the superhero special that had just been playing.

"I know, right?" Joey nodded, "Say, school starts in a few weeks."

"Don't remind me," Micah groaned.

"So you're going this year?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," came the despondent reply.

"Finally!" Joey grinned in excitement, "My friends never believe me when I tell them that my brother is a turtle. Now I can finally prove I was right!"

"But dude…" Micah moaned, "It will totally eat up all my vg time!"

"You can play video games after homework!" Joey replied, trying to be reassuring.

"We get homework too!?" Micah gasped in shock, "Aw man, this stinks!"

"It's not that bad," Joey tried to cheer his brother up, "We've still got a few more weeks before school starts. I honestly think you'll like it."

"Sheesh," Micah grumbled, "a turtle can't even get a decent year of non-school. I didn't go last year. Why are mom and dad making me go now?"

"I don't know, bro," Joey admitted.

In truth, they were making him go because they didn't want him to become a lazy turtle. Though the other family members were against it, it was ultimately Neil and Joy's decision. The others were even against the idea of keeping Micah as Joey's brother, fearing that it would cause the boy to become weird and an unacceptable member of society.

"Let him be loved like our real son," they had argued.

So, for ten years, Micah had been cared for and loved by Neil and Joy Nuchak, hidden from most of society, but still exposed to the human's way of life.

"In any case, we've gotta go, even if we don't want to."

"Fine," Micah grumbled, "As long as they don't make me drink lactose-free milk. That stuff's disgusting."

"Hey, I don't have a choice!" Joey, who was lactose-intolerant, retorted. "Unless you'd  
rather a stench-filled bathroom for the rest of your life. At least I wear clothes."

"I don't want 'em," Micah replied, "I've got my shell. That's all the clothes I need. They're too chunky and my shell makes me look big in 'em, anyway."

Joey shook his head. "Well, at least you aren't being annoying today," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Micah called from the other room. Joey smirked before running up to his room.

-

Later that day, Ralph awoke to the sounds of cars going by and people talking to each other. He moaned and covered his head with his dirty pillow, before finally sitting up and looking at the clock. Nearly sunset. He turned and spotted a plate left on the counter: dirt and worms. With a sigh, he left the couch and poured the food into his mouth, finishing in one gulp.

"Wouldn't mind some variation every once in a while," he grumbled, heading over to the sink and grabbing a bottle of water that had been left there. He paused for a moment, listening to the sounds of the streets, before drinking the bottle dry. He then spotted a note that was attached to the door. Going over to it, he read the note to himself.  
_  
Ralph_

Not coming tonight, left some extra food in the fridge. Feel free to do whatever you want. Just make sure you don't get caught.

Love ya, buddy. Will see you in the morning.

Pop.  
  
He could have really gone for some entertainment after reading that. Being ten-years-old and cooped up in a dingy old apartment wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. With a sigh, he balled up the note and threw it into the garbage with amazing accuracy. He then proceeded to head to his room: a bedroom filled with gym equipment that his father had bought online for cheap. He trained every day, getting stronger and stronger. He could take down anyone in an arm wrestling competition. Adjusting his sunglasses, Ralph began to lift weights to pass the time. It was the only entertainment he had.

Later that night, he slipped out of his home to go for a walk. The walk that, like running away from his true family, would change his life forever.

-

"Leonard, Abigail, please come to the living room!" Jessica called.

"Yes, mother!" the siblings replied simultaneously. Abigail walked in from the kitchen, while Len came down the stairs as quickly as he could. They sat on opposite sides of the couch that faced Jessica's big brown chair. A glass table sat elegantly between them.

"I would like to discuss your coming education needs before the start of the school year," she began.

"Same as last year, right? I go to the academy; Len stays here and learns from you," Abigail nodded.

"Actually, I have some changes that I would like to tell you about."

"Len isn't going to the academy, is he?" Abigail moaned.

"No, he will not," she replied. Abigail sighed in relief, until she heard the next part.

"You'll both be going to a public school," Jessica announced.

"What?!" They both stood up, one in excitement, the other in shocked disbelief.

"Mother, you cannot be doing this to me!" Abigail blurted out.

"I realize, Abigail, that I have been spoiling you far too much. You've become a selfish brat, and I'm hoping a bit of humility will assist your attitude. As for you, Leonard, I've taught you what I can, but you will receive a much stronger education at a public school. I also don't want you turning into what Abigail has become."

"All my friends are at the academy!" Abigail shouted, "I cannot believe this! And school was the only place that I was free from that pet! Now I can't even have an hour without him being in the same building as me! I'm going to my room!" The girl rushed out of the room, stormed up the stairs, and slammed the door, hard.

Jessica turned apologetically to Len. "I'm sorry, my dear, that you had to see that. Are you still alright with going to a public school?"

"Of course, mother!" Len replied excitedly. "I've always wanted to see life beyond the fence!"

"Good," Jessica smiled, before standing up and rubbing her son's head, "And don't bother your sister. She needs a bit of time to cool off."

"Alright, mother," Len agreed, "I was gonna watch Space Cadets anyway! And did you know that in a few years they're gonna have a new series called Space Heroes? I can't wait!"

-

"Well, what do ya have there, nerd?"

Dan faced the older kids who were looking at his machine. "It's a solar powered-robot," he explained proudly.

"Mighty cool," the leader, Jeff, mused, looking down at it. He was sixteen, the oldest boy at the orphanage, and loved to pick on the younger kids, especially Dan. He also happened to be the tallest, and towered over everyone else.

"It's not finished yet, I'm still working on it."

"But if it's solar powered, it should fly, right?" Jeff said suddenly, picking up the machine.

"Uh, that's not exactly what solar-powered means…"

"We should give it a test flight!" Jeff looked down at his followers, fifteen and fourteen-year-olds, who nodded in agreement. Jeff proceeded to take the robot, and threw it through the open window. Dan rushed after it, and watched it clatter to pieces when it hit the ground.

"It's broken, nerd turtle. Doesn't fly at all. You should really fix that," Jeff came up to Dan and looked over his shoulder out the window. Dan sighed, but before he could make a move, a large truck came and crushed the salvageable remains. He cried out as Jeff simply laughed.

"Man, you're just too easy to mess with, ya know?" Still laughing, he led the others out of the bedroom and into the hall. Rich proceeded to come in, passing the many beds slowly as he thought of what to say to his friend.

"I'm sorry, Dan," Rich said apologetically, "Ye can always make a nodder one. Come on, let's go raid de dumpsteh and see if we can find anytin'." He turned to leave, but as he reached the door, he realized that Dan was still staring out the window.

"Fix it lateh!" he told his friend, "Let's go!"

"What's that?" he murmured, staring out the window.

Rich came up and looked out as well, to see what he was staring at. It turned out to be a red-headed girl walking with her father.

"She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he whispered, awestruck.

"She's the only girl ya've ever seen," he retorted. "Now let's go!"

He dragged his lovesick friend out of the room, hoping that he would snap out of it and get to his feet. Ten-year-old turtles were heavy.


	4. Chapter 3: Treasure Afoot

WARNING MORE FAINT SPOILERS! Again, if you haven't seen the first episode, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

* * *

Ralph continued to walk through the alleys, keeping to the ones he knew so that he wouldn't get lost.

"Wonder what I'll find tonight," he murmured to himself. He was always on the lookout for things to remind him of his past. The only thing he could remember was the alleyways.

He'd been doing this every free night he had ever since he had been allowed to go out on his own. He hadn't found anything yet, but still continued to search.

As he pondered his life with his father, he never heard the footsteps coming towards him. With a start, he crashed into someone as he was rounding the corner. They both fell to the ground

"What the –" the other person cried.

"Hey, watch where you're going," Ralph hissed, getting to his feet and glaring at the other person: a blonde, curly haired boy, about the same age as he was.

"Wah!" the boy cried out in shock at seeing Ralph, "D-don't hurt me!"

"What are you doing in the alleys?" Ralph asked, suspicious.

"I-I'm looking for the treasure of New York!" he replied, fearfully.

"'Treasure of New York'?" Ralph repeated.

"Yeah," the boy got to his feet, "A hidden treasure in the alleyways, worth millions of dollars!"

"Wow," Ralph murmured.

"By the way, my name's Moe."

"Ralph." They shook hands.

"You know the alleyways, right? Maybe you could help me find it!" Moe looked hopefully at him.

"We'll see," Ralph replied, leading Moe through the alleys as the two of them began their search.

"What are you anyway?"

"A turtle."

"Who can talk, and wear sunglasses, and stand on two legs."

"Yup."

"Alright, just checking."

"So, you have any idea where this treasure could be?"

"Well, not exactly, but I do know that it's near a picture of a sun."

"Not helpful. I know these alleys well and there're many sun pictures that I know of. Any other details?"

"Yeah, the sun is blue."

"Alright, well, I know a few places we can check. Let's go."

_A few hours later..._

"Can we take a break? I'm exhausted."

"You want to find that treasure?"

"Yeah…"

"Then we keep moving."

The two of them trudged on in silence. A few minutes later, Moe finally flopped onto a crate, panting heavily. Ralph looked at him in disdain. "Weak," he muttered disapprovingly, turning his back on Moe.

"Hey!" Moe jumped to his feet angrily, "We've been searching for hours in these alleys! I'm tired! And for all we know, you could have gotten us lost!"

Ralph turned slowly. "Yeah, and for all I know, you could be lying about this treasure and setting me up."

"Why on earth would I set you up? I don't even know you, practically! Plus, I've let you lead this entire time!"

"Yeah, but you told me what to look for!" Ralph was facing him fully now.

"A blue sun! I know it's a blue sun! Like that one right there! We've seen dozens, and we haven't found a single thing! Face it, you're lost, and we'll… what are you doing."

"I've never seen this blue sun before," he murmured, going up to the stone wall on his left, "It looks fancier than the others. Plus, this wall has no other graffiti on it." He began running his hands up and down the wall, while Moe looked on excitedly. He finally found something of interest, and, motioning for Moe to come closer, pushed what appeared to be a button. There was a click, and a panel in the ground slowly moved, revealing stairs.

"Yeah! You found it!" Moe shouted.

"Zip it! You wanna lose the treasure right after we found it?"

"Sorry," Moe replied sheepishly.

"And I told you I knew where I was going." Ralph stuck his hand out, and Moe handed him a flashlight that had been in his pocket. Ralph flipped it on, and a moment later, led Moe down the stairs. There were only a couple of steps, and a moment later what the flashlight revealed caused them both to gasp.

Mountains of gold coins, gold bars, and multi-coloured jewels littered the classroom-sized chamber. Moe and Ralph grinned and high-fived each other.

"Sweet!" Moe exclaimed, "I can't believe we found it!"

They left the chamber without touching any of the treasure, in order to avoid anyone seeing anything. Ralph re-hid the entranceway as Moe took the flashlight back.

"You should probably get back to your parents," Ralph stated, looking up at the sky.

"Oh, uh…" Moe suddenly became awkward. Ralph turned to him, curious.

"I can get you out of the alleys," he told him.

"No, it's not that," Moe sighed, "I don't actually have any parents. I've been living on the streets on my own. My grandfather used to tell me about the New York treasure, but I haven't seen him for years."

Ralph looked at him with an emotion he had never felt before: pity. It was if someone had come and shoved feelings down his throat. He had only ever wanted praise from his father. That's all he seeked, and would do anything he could to get it. But now, he wanted to help this kid, as he had been doing before. He longed for adventure as well. Trying to find this treasure, as annoying as it had been, taking one of his few nights off and  
sticking him with this irritating kid, he had enjoyed the thrill.

"Fine, you can come with me. But it will ultimately be up to my father."

"Thank you, Ralph!"

As it turned out, the hideout was fairly close to the treasure spot. When they were a few corners away, Ralph turned to Moe.

"Stay here. I'll come back for you."

Moe nodded in anticipation as he settled between a garbage can and some boxes. He waited as he heard Ralph's footsteps fade into the distance. Minutes passed, and soon Moe became worried that Ralph had forgotten about him. But, just as he was about to get up and go home, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Moe jumped, nearly knocking over the boxes. Ralph steadied him as Moe glared at him.

"What was that for?" Moe hissed.

"There were people around. Had to be quiet."

"So what did he say?" Moe asked, forgetting his irritation for the moment.

"He said yes!" Ralph grinned, glasses gleaming. Moe grinned as well as Ralph led him to the hideout.

"Did you tell them about the treasure?"

Ralph shook his head, "No, I didn't." Ralph's tone of voice told Moe not to continue the subject.

"So, who's your father?"

Before Ralph could answer, a door opened and out came some tough-looking adults. Moe looked fearful, but Ralph simply ushered him inside. At a table sat the leader of the team, Ralph's father.

"Greetings, Moe," he nodded, "You're a homeless friend of Ralph?"

Gulping, Moe nodded. "Y-yes, sir."

"Well, you're allowed to stay here as long as you'd like, or as long as Ralph says so," the man smiled. Despite the fact that he was the leader of these thugs, Moe thought that he was actually quite kind. He then proceeded to stand up, and lead the last adult member outside, who proceeded to glare at Ralph. Ralph calmly returned the glare, making Moe feel uneasy. Finally, the glaring man turned and shut the door with a slam.

"Who was that?" Moe asked.

"The would-be second-in-command, Snake," Ralph replied, taking a spot on the torn-up couch. He said his name with contempt.

"Why isn't he second-in-command?"

"Cuz I am," Ralph smirked, hopping onto the couch, "He's always trying to dethrone me. But it's not just cuz I'm the chief's son, it's cuz I'm the best."

"Oh…" Moe walked over to the couch, "Hey, is there anything to eat?"

"Got some grub on the table," Ralph murmured, his voice muffled because his face was pressed onto a pillow.

'Grub' was right. Moe stared in horror at the plate of dirt and worms that rested on a plastic plate.

"Uh… is there anything a bit more… edible?" he asked, disgusted.

Ralph chuckled a bit at that. "Can't take it? You're the one who decided to join."

Sitting up, he smirked at Moe's shocked face. "Oh, chill. I think there's a bag of chips we got yesterday in the cupboard."

Relieved, Moe found the chips and began to eat, as Ralph, like always, downed the dirt and worms in one gulp. Moe simply shook his head as Ralph went to the sink and took a drink of water.

"If you get hungry, you have to wait until later tonight. I usually get a breakfast and a dinner, all the same. So I'd save some of those chips," Ralph told Moe, who was eating the chips greedily. With eyes wide, he folded the bag and put them back in the cupboard.  
Only a third of the bag remained. Shaking his head, Ralph turned to Moe.

"You should get some sleep. We'll be here until late tonight, and it gets boring real fast. And we've been out all night, too."

Moe nodded, walking over to the couch and collapsing on the dirty fabric. With a sigh, Ralph went to go sleep in his bedroom. Adjusting himself on his weight bench, he reflected on why he hadn't told his father. He really didn't know why, but he felt like it had something to do with what his father would do if he found out. He knew that it would extremely please his father, and yet… he was worried that something bad would happen if he told him about the treasure. He knew there would be consequences.

What he didn't know was that someone else had been watching them that night. And they would use this secret for their own good.

* * *

Yes, I know this is a 'Ralph-only' chapter. But hey, everyone else is asleep right now. I can't really add anything to their sections. XD


	5. Chapter 4: Television Surprise

Micah looked at his parents with puppy-dog eyes.

"Mom, dad, can I stay home tomorrow?" he pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Micah," his mother replied, rubbing his head, "But we feel that you'd be better off if you went. You need to learn things, and we don't want you to be lazy."

Micah sighed as his father made lunches. "It's for your own good, Mike."

"Yeah, yeah," Micah got up and flipped on the television. But before he could switch it from the news, Joey called him upstairs.

"Urrrrgh…" he moaned, throwing his head back in agony, "A turtle can't get any peace!" He went upstairs as his mother took his place on the couch, watching the latest events.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide.

"Neil," Joy called, shocked, "You might want to come see this."

-

Elsewhere, Len packed his backpack in excitement. On his bed sat his blue bowtie, the only thing he would ever wear. It was very fancy and elegant, coming all the way from Japan. His mother was adopted by Japanese parents, and though she knew not the language, she knew and taught the culture. Her father had given her the bowtie, instead of her brother, because he left home before he could do so. It had a small stone in the middle of it, where the knot would be.

He could hear his sister complaining in the other room. Abigail was not pleased with their new school, and blamed Len for it. He smiled and shook his head. She'd just have to deal with it.

"I'm so excited," he grinned to himself. "Finally, I'm going to meet new people."

Downstairs, Jessica was watching television. She always watched the news in the morning, as she wanted to know the current events of the day before. However, a more recent story was being broadcasted, one that was happening at that very moment in another part of New York, and one that rendered the old woman speechless.

-

Dan was sitting on his bed, stretching as he prepared his bag for the next day. With eagerness he put his second-hand supplies in his ratty backpack. It wasn't fancy, but it would have to do.

He reflected on the visit to the school weeks before. It had been an amazing place, fresh and clean, unlike the orphanage, and it smelled of learning. The teachers were all nice, surprised at first when they saw him, but kind nonetheless. The orphanage had alerted the school of their… unique student, and had seemed surprisingly okay with it.

Downstairs, the caretaker, Elizabeth, the same woman who had found Daniel outside that strange day ten years ago, watched television as she enjoyed the bit of peace and quiet she could receive before the rowdy boys awakened. But this peace and quiet was shattered moments later as an interesting news bulletin flashed its way across the screen. She couldn't believe what was happening at that moment, and neither did the rest of New York.

-

It was like a dream.

No, not a dream.

A nightmare. That was the only way to describe it.

Except this nightmare was real, not the kind you can awaken from.

Ralph stared in agony as humans crowded the alleyway and the street, revealed to the world by the morning sun. His team's wrists were being locked together and they were thrown into white cars. On top of these cars were red and blue flashing lights that burned his eyes. He was glad he was wearing his sunglasses. He saw white vans with bowls on the top of them. Even more people came from them. Different patterns in different colours were on each van, and there was always one person, holding a stick, that was speaking to another, who was holding a big black box of some sort. He would later learn that these were reporters.

The worst part of the entire thing was when his father was shoved into the car that was closet to his home, on the left side. He stood on the sidewalk, not caring if he was seen. Moe stood next to him, as shocked as he was. His father simply looked at Ralph sadly. The man holding Ralph's father attempted to shove him down into the car, but he wouldn't move. He mouthed the words, I'm sorry, to his son, before allowing himself to be put into the car. The side closer to Ralph wasn't so pleasant.

Snake was desperately fighting the men in dark blue and black, screaming at Ralph that this was his fault.

"You reptile! This is all because of you! If you hadn't brought that kid here… I'm telling you I'm gonna–"

He continued screaming as the door shut, glaring at Ralph the entire time. But Ralph ignored this. To Moe's shock, Ralph removed his sunglasses. This caused quite a stir among the other adults who knew him. Ralph never removed his sunglasses. Moe saw the horror in the green eyes as Ralph stared at the scene. Though not as horrified, he was indeed shocked by what was unfolding before him. Moe reflected on what had happened early this morning that had led to this.

[Flashback]  
_  
They finally knew. Somehow, they had found out about the treasure, and Ralph was going to pay for keeping it to himself. But it wouldn't be his father's doing. His father wouldn't arrive for a few more minutes yet._

Snake had somehow discovered their secret, and revealed it to the other team members while they stood in the dark alley, awaiting for their boss.

In anger, Snake had ordered two of the men to punish Ralph. They dragged Ralph into the base, kicking and shouting. Moe didn't see what happened, but a moment later, Ralph came outside alone, rubbing his wrists. He discovered that Ralph had managed to throw them into the couch, leaving them stunned. His father then came, and Ralph rushed towards him, glaring at Snake, who told the secret of the treasure to his boss. Ralph's father wasn't angry, and smiled at Ralph, strangely proud for keeping this secret. He explained that if he couldn't keep secrets, he wouldn't be as good as he was. Infuriated, Snake rushed inside as the other two men came out, stunned but unharmed. Moe went to stand next to Ralph. Moments later, as they were discussing their haul outside, the cop cars showed up, and everything became chaos. Moe detected a hint of a smile on Snake's face, and immediately knew what happened. Snake had ratted them out.  
  
[End Flashback]

Two of the cops came up to Moe and Ralph, and, realizing they were children, took them to a black car. This one had no writing on it. Ralph put his glasses back on, as the cars began to leave. Their family was gone. They entered the car, and soon found themselves at a strange, one-story white building near the port. They soon discovered that it was a detention center for youths, like a kid prison. Ralph simply said nothing, and Moe stuck close to him as they entered. Other boys, much larger and tougher than they were, looked up as they entered. They watched as Ralph and Moe were led to their beds, near the back of the room. Ralph glared slowly around the room, and the others, realizing that this kid wasn't one to mess with, returned to what they were doing. Moe simply curled up and went to sleep.

* * *

WHAAAAAT?! PLOT TWIST!


	6. Chapter 5: New School Year

The South Port Elementary schoolyard was bustling with activity. Yellow buses lined the parking lot, and many cars sat on the streets, letting kids of many ages onto the sidewalk. The noise and colours were amazing. The two-story building looked mesmerizing as the sun rose behind it, casting light onto the five-apartment buildings on the other side of the street. No trees were in the schoolyard, but there was a small playground off to the left, where the preschoolers would play until the bell rang. Many emotions were radiating across the grass, happiness of seeing friends, sorrow of the new school year, excitement and nervousness for the new students. Some were in complete and utter agony. Two boys, one new, in an orange baseball cap, and one return, with brown, short hair blowing in the wind of the moving vehicles, stepped out from a small green car. The second was calm, while the first was feigning nausea.

"I'm telling you, I'm sick!"

"Micah, quit whining. They're gone."

Others were ecstatic. A black stretch limo pulled up to the curb, forcing some other cars to move. A boy in a fancy blue bowtie and a girl in a short, pink and black dress exited the limo as the chauffer held the door open for them.

"I am so mad at you right now, _pet_."

"I'm so excited! I'm really outside of the fence! Wow, the sights, the sounds, the smells, it's amazing!"

"Quit embarrassing me, Len. You should just be happy that some of my friends' parents did the same thing and I don't have to talk to the middleclass."

In the bus drop-off zone, the younger kids of The Seaside Orphanage for Boys exited onto the grass. Most were irritated, but one, with purple goggles on his head, was beaming with excitement.

"I'm so happy! You can practically smell the knowledge!"

"Yer a weird one, Dannie."

"That's the eighth time this week, and it's only Tuesday! That's a new record!"

And finally, a few were reserved, keeping to themselves and glaring at any who dared to look at them. Two boys left a black car, one in dark red sunglasses, the other with curly blonde hair. A man stepped out to keep an eye on them.

"This is new. Eh, Ralph?"

"…"

The bell suddenly wrung. The students surged for the four doors that led into the building and towards the gymnasium. The new students simply followed the wave.

The gym was huge, at least ten metres tall. On one side of it was a stage, where a podium had been moved and a man in a sharp grey suit stood patiently as the students sat on the floor. He held his arm up for silence.

"Welcome, students, to South Port Elementary! I am your principal, Mister Mullard. It is a pleasure to be the principal of this fine establishment for my fifth year! Some of you are familiar with what goes on here on the first day of school, but I'll explain it for those of you who don't! On the wall of the gym are pieces of paper, with numbers on them. You will head to the number that matches your specific grade, and await further instructions from your new teachers. Preschoolers will meet next to the stage!"

The students began looking around the room for their numbers as Mr. Mullard stepped down from the podium.

"We're fifth grade, Micah," Joey led his brother to the number five on the wall.

"Great," Micah rolled his eyes, "At least it's not seven. I don't have enough fingers for that."

The two of them walked towards the group of kids that had gathered beneath the piece of paper with the 5 on it. A few teachers stood directly below it.

"Welcome, students," one of the teachers greeted.

"We are the grade five teachers for South Port Elementary," stated another.

"You are to stand behind the teacher that calls your name," explained a third. He began rattling off the school rules, and some students began to shift in their spots.

Len looked around nervously. He realized that he had no one his age to hang out with. Not to mention all the other students were ignoring him. He felt very alone, not even able to see Abigail. The second teacher had begun to speak, and he jumped, realizing that he might have missed his name. He focused on what the teachers were saying once more, and looked around nervously again.

"Please do your best to behave in the school," the second teacher finished. The first teacher, the one who had greeted them, began to name students, and they began to move to line up behind her.

"Leonard Katan," she said. Len nodded and moved forwards. No one noticed him.

"Joey Nuchak, Micah Nuchak, April O'Neil…" More students moved. Rich turned to Dan, his hands clammy and his face agitated.

"I hope we're in de same class," he murmured nervously.

"Richard Simon, Daniel Bosta…" High-fiving, the two best friends joined the other students.

"Ralph Saia, Moe Nouge…"

"We're together," Moe smiled awkwardly. Ralph just stared forwards.

"…"

She named off some other students, and soon everyone was divided up. Soon, the gym began emptying, and the teachers led the students to their proper classes.

School was now in session.


	7. Chapter 6: First Encounters

"Welcome, everyone, to the first day of fifth grade! I'll be your teacher, Ms. Parkson."

The teacher began explaining the classroom rules and etiquette to the students. There were four rows of five desks each, and only some were paying attention.

Ralph stared off into the distance as the teacher went on. He didn't care about any of  
this. He looked out the window at the schoolyard from his second-last row seat, dejected. He just wanted to see his father again. Not be forced to go to some school. Assumed to be victims of the men, he and Moe, who sat one row up on the other side of the room, had been the only ones from Moarly's Center for Troubled Boys permitted to go to school. Their true natures would be discovered later on by the owners of the place. And the cops.

Micah was also unfocused. He had immediately taken a notebook from his bag and began drawing. He didn't want to be here either. He sat in the direct center of the third row, behind Joey, who couldn't get after him because he couldn't see him.

Surprisingly, Dan was yet another unfocused student, sitting in the far back corner. He was staring at a girl who sat in the front of Ralph's row. It was the same redhead that he had seen that one day back at the orphanage. Rich, who sat on his left, rolled his eyes when he saw Dan's love-struck look.

Out of all the students, no one was paying more attention than Len. He sat in the front row, second to the left, right next to April. Being so excited about his new school, and not having any problems to distract him, he grinned widely at the teacher, who, when she saw his expression, gave a small smile in return.

Ms. Parkson had expected two of the turtle students, but not Len or Ralph. She had seen the newsreel with Ralph in the background, though, and hadn't thought much of it. But now that he was in her class, she decided to keep a close eye on him. He would need it. She picked up a metre stick that was on her desk, and, winking at the students that were paying attention, smacked it on her desk, hard. The crack startled nearly everyone, including those who had focused on what their teacher was saying. Ralph kept his posture, but tilted his head ever so slightly and simply moved his eyes. Not that anyone could see the movement.

"Now that I have your attention," Ms. Parkson grinned, "I'd like to announce that for the entire year, you will be in teams of four." The students exchanged wide-eyed looks. "This is to broaden your horizons and to meet new people, to learn more about them. Any group work will be done with them." She watched as some of the students began collaborating. She then cleared her throat.

"And I will be making the groups."

Cries of protest resounded from the room. The teacher held up her hand for silence. "I've made the groups before meeting any of you. Thus, I have no idea if you will work well together. For my sake, I hope so." The students laughed, before she started naming the groups.

"Moe, Richard, April, and Joey. You will be meeting by the bookshelf when you are in groups." She gestured to the shelves near the teacher's desk.

The boys looked at their respective turtle friends. Oddly enough, no one else had even noticed them yet, and those who knew turtles already never realized that there was more than one. She began rattling off more names, before finally coming to the last group.

"Daniel, Ralph, Leonard, and Micah, you four will meet at the reading corner." It was a small, carpeted space that separated the desks from the windows. It was special, with chairs and couches, surrounded by bookshelves and nearly completely hidden. It had a blanket over top of it, and resembled a cave. Inside, light from the windows illuminated the colourful seats, book backings, and floor.

"I want everyone to get into their groups and introduce themselves."

The four turtles moved, without even making eye contact with each other. It wasn't until they were all together in the reading corner that they realized their similarities.

"What the WHAT?!" Ralph exclaimed, the first thing he had said since the day before.

"Y-you're all turtles, too?!" Dan stammered in amazement.

"This is so cool! I thought I was the only one!" Micah grinned.

"So did I!" Len replied, ecstatic.

Ralph sat down on one of the couches with a frown. "This is not my week…" he growled.

"I'm Daniel!" the turtle with purple goggles introduced himself.

"Micah!" the grinning turtle spun his hat around his round head.

"Leonard, but you can call me Len," the blue bow-tied turtle nodded.

"…" The turtle with red sunglasses stared out the window as the others waited expectantly. Finally he sighed.

"Fine. Ralph." He muttered, his glasses gleaming.

"Sweet," Micah nodded, fist-bumping the red turtle in the arm.

Dan and Len froze as Ralph slowly got to his feet and ominously turned, cracking his knuckles.

"You wanna get physical, orange boy?" The turtle hissed, flipping Micah's hat off of him.

"N-no, i-it was just a friendly gesture," Micah explained, startled. "I-I'm sorry, bro!"

"I'm not your 'bro', Micah," Ralph growled, "So if you three know what's good for ya, you'll stay out of my face."

The three of them exchanged surprised, and frightened, glances as Ralph turned back to the window with a sigh. The three others began chattering quietly, talking about their home life.

"I live with my bro, Joey, and my mom and dad. It's pretty cool, actually. Nice life," Micah told them.

"I'm in an orphanage," Dan admitted, as the other two looked on in sympathy. "My good friend Richard helps me out. I usually just build things, like robots, and try to hide them from the bullies, who always throw my things out the window."

"Duuude, that's so cool!" Micah nodded, "Not the throwing-out-of-the-window part. The building robots part."

"I live in the richer part of New York, in a mansion with my mother, Jessica, and my sister Abigail. She's two years older than me," Len said modestly. The other two looked at him enviously.

At that moment, Ms. Parkson's head popped in to check up on them. "How're you guys doing?"

"Pretty good," Len nodded, before the three of them looked at Ralph. Ms. Parkson understood immediately.

"Ralph, could you come with me for a moment?" she asked kindly.

Without a word, the glasses wearing turtle followed her into the hall.

"Ralph, don't think you're in trouble," she smiled sweetly, "I understand what you're going through. I saw the newsreel yesterday." Ralph said nothing, staring off to the right, away from the class.

"I know it may be against your nature, but maybe try talking about it to your group members. I'm sure they'll understand."

Ralph just looked up at her for a moment. She was worried that he'd simply ignore her. Finally, to her shock, he sighed and spoke.

"You better be right about this, teach," he replied with another sigh. She smirked kindly.

"It's my job to be right," she laughed, "now let's go back inside." With that, the two of them returned to their respective places. Though no one could see, there was a hint of a smile in Ralph's eyes.

_Father would have liked her…_

The other three looked up as he returned and settled back on the couch. After a moment's hesitation, Len spoke.

"Is everything alright, Ralph?" he asked worriedly. Ralph was about to retort, before sighing for the third time in five minutes.

"Alright, you win," he faced his grinning group mates. "I'm the son of a leader of thieves. I'm second-in-command. I was the best. Then yesterday," he spat out the word, "cops came and took my father and the rest of my family away. The only one left is Moe, and I found him living on the streets a few weeks ago. Now I'm at a jail for kids. They call it a… what was it… oh yeah, 'rehabilitation center', whatever that means. And that's my story. Happy?"

The others stared at him in disbelief. Finally, Len got up and put his hand on Ralph's shoulder.

"We're here for you, bro," Len told him. The others were stunned, first, by Ralph's history, second, by Len's use of the word 'bro', and third, that he was touching his shoulder.

"I'm not your–" Ralph began angrily. But then something happened. He felt something pass between the two of them, as if Len was trying his best to be his father, as ridiculous as it sounded. He looked up at the blue turtle with yet another sigh.

"Thanks, man," he nodded. Len grinned and released his arm. The others were baffled, before grinning as well as Ralph finally came and joined them on the carpet.

"That… was… awesome!" Micah grinned, pumping the air. "Now we're all like, bros, bro!"

Micah swung his arm around Ralph and Dan and hugged them close.

"Uh… sure… whatever… floats your boat, I guess…" Ralph stuttered awkwardly. "Can you let me go now?"

* * *

Author's Note: When I was writing this, I was watching the 2012 and the 2003 version, so if it gets a bit mixed up between the two, that's why. Man I loved writing this, though!


	8. Chapter 7: Intense Break

The turtles lost track of time, and soon found Ms. Parkson calling them out of the reading corner. One by one, they exited. Now that everyone was paying attention, gasps and shrieks rose among the other fifth graders of Ms. Parkson's class.

"Dude… you, like… quadrupled!" Joey gasped, eyes wide.

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph held up his hand. Half the class recognized him from the news, and quieted immediately. "Don't get your shells in a knot. We're turtles. Chill."

As the four of them returned to their seats, each of them felt eyes boring into them, and whispers being said about them. Ralph returned to starring out the window, Micah returned to his art, and Dan returned to ogling April, who was looking at Len curiously. Only Len noticed the stares, and was at first uncomfortable. But then he smiled, finally glad to be noticed.

-

Lunchtime came soon after. The day was shortened, and usually there would be a recess and snack break, followed by some more class before lunch started. However, the school was going easy on the students for one day, in order for them to get into the full swing of things. Len, Ralph, Dan, and Micah entered the gym, which had moveable tables in order for the students to enjoy their lunch. Quite a stir was caused as the four of them entered. For once, the entire lunchroom was silent as Ralph calmly led the three other turtles to an empty table. Conversation soon started up again, but it was about the four turtles this time. Ralph and Dan sat across from each other on the end of the table, and Len sat next to Dan as Micah plopped down beside Ralph. Dan dug through his bag and pulled out a device.

"What's that, Dannie?" Micah asked, staring in awe at the small machine in his friend's hand as he took out his lunch: a lettuce sub.

"It's a communication device I've been working on," he explained proudly. The others just looked at him. He sighed.

"Like… a cellphone?"

"Oh, nice!" Micah nodded approvingly as the others unpacked their food: a seaweed salad for Len, an algae sandwich for Dan, and a mysterious container for Ralph. The others stared at it as Ralph sighed.

"Last meal from my old man," he murmured, "then I have to find my own food."

The three boys watched curiously as Ralph removed the lid. An earthy smell emanated from the container, but before he could reveal his lunch, an eighth grader approached their table. Once more, conversations halted. The teachers began to whisper and prepare for anything to go wrong.

"Hey, nerd turtle, I see you got some reptile friends!" the boy grinned. Oddly enough, he held a red balloon. Dan winced fearfully.

"Uh, guys, this is Jeff, the bully at my orphanage," Dan explained awkwardly. "He's three years older than the other eighth graders…"

"Now, now, dorko, there's no need for flattery. But since you're so polite, I won't smash your new toy…" Jeff snatched it from Dan's hand with a flourish. He cried out, shocked. One of the teachers took a step forwards as Jeff got to work tying the balloon to the phone.

"…I'll just make it fly, since your other one couldn't!" He threw the phone, hard. The balloon hit the corner of the gym, going at least twenty metres, but before the phone could smash to bits, it was lifted up the ten metres to the top. Ralph, in anger, got to his feet.

"Len, go stand underneath the phone," he ordered as calmly as he could. Confused, Len obliged. Ralph stepped from the table and faced Jeff. Putting one hand on his glasses, he removed them, covering his eyes with his other hand as he did so.

"You are going to leave my friends alone," he hissed, "or else." With his free hand, he folded his glasses and whipped them. They flew across the room like a boomerang, hitting the balloon and causing it to burst. He then lifted his arm straight up, and caught the glasses with two fingers as the phone tumbled into Len's safe arms. He brought it back to the table and handed it to Dan. Ralph put his glasses back on, before looking back up at Jeff.

"Got that?"

Jeff, in a desperate attempt to seem tough and menacing, threw a punch at Ralph's head. However, the turtle expected this, and, in a quick reflex, held up his hand, catching the punch. Jeff's eyes widened as Ralph's hand tightened around the fist.

"This is your only warning," Ralph whispered, "Don't blow it."

Jeff wrenched his hand from the tough turtle's grip, before fleeing the lunch room. The students stared at him as he looked at the door that Jeff had exited from. Suddenly, a scream echoed through the gym. A second grade girl had been walking, and stared in horror at something on the ground. It was a worm. Some of the other girls echoed her cry. Ralph, unbeknownst to everyone, rolled his eyes as he looked back at his lunch container. One had escaped, and another was trying to do the same. He knocked it back in, checked the number to make sure that they were all there, before going to the place that the worm had fallen and picked it up. Everyone watch to see what he was going to do.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," he growled at the other students. "It's just a worm. Chill."

With that, he tilted his head back, and, to everyone's shock and disgust, dropped the worm into his mouth. He walked back to his lunch container, grabbed most of the worms that remained, and dumped them into his mouth, followed by the dirt. He chewed slowly as he looked around the room, glaring, though no one could see it. Fearfully, everyone looked away, returning to what they were doing. Dan, Micah, and Len looked at him, shocked.

"What?" he growled. Micah spoke first.

"Dude, that was awesome! And nasty at the same time."

"No one messes with my friends," Ralph shrugged, "Want a worm? They're good."

Micah held out his hand, and, after a moment's hesitation, Dan did too. Len simply watched as they ate the decomposer.

"What about you, rich boy?" Ralph held out the final worm, "Last chance."

Len thought of what Jessica or Abigail would say; that it wouldn't be civilized or normal. But, then again, he wasn't exactly normal to begin with. So, nodding, he accepted the worm and put it in his mouth.

"Dude, this is pretty good!" Micah nodded, "Like… chewy!"

"Better than anything we get at the orphanage, besides algae," Dan agreed.

"Not as bad as I thought," Len chewed thoughtfully, "It's nice!"

Ralph smirked at their comments.

"And you judged me," he chastised teasingly.

-

Recess came soon after. The four turtles stood outside, near the left-side fence, examining the other students. Micah was winking and calling out to any girls that passed by, including a pretty, black-haired seventh grader.

"Hey, babe!" he called as she walked past. She looked at him, about to roll her eyes, but stopped dead when she saw the others. She stared in shock for a moment, before shrieking loudly, to their surprise. This caused some teachers and students to look her way. She then began running away, waving wildly.

"They're multiplying!" she cried out.

"Bye, sis!" Len waved. The others stared at him.

"THAT'S your _SISTER_?!" Ralph gawked.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Dude, why didn't you _say_ anything?!" Micah whined.

"I didn't think it was important," Len shrugged, "You were calling out to all the other girls."

"Yeah," Micah rubbed his hands together with a grin, "But I don't have a connection to any of the others!"

Dan smacked him upside the head. "OW!"

"Thank you," Ralph sighed, lowering his hand. They began walking across the schoolyard, looking for something to do. At that moment, one of them heard their name being called.

"Ralph!"

The red turtle kept walking, realizing who it was.

"Ralph, buddy!" the boy shouted once more.

He stopped, and the others, realizing that one of them had fallen behind, stopped as well.

"What's up, buddy? You've been avoiding me all day! I've been trying to talk to you about yesterday. I–"

Ralph spun around and pushed the boy to the ground, to the shock of the others.

"I'm NOT your buddy, Moe!" he seethed, "Because what happened yesterday was your fault! If you hadn't come along, my dad wouldn't be in JAIL!"

A crowd started forming, some worried, some excited.

"But… I thought we were friends!" Moe stammered, confused.

"_Friends_?!" Ralph spat out the words. "Friends don't get their friend's parents _ARRESTED_!"

"But, Ralph, that wasn't me!" Moe spoke, desperately. "It was–"

"Shut it, curly!" Ralph pounced on top of the boy. Micah, Len, and Dan, who had been shoved back because of the ground, attempted to push forwards to stop their companion.

Moe squirmed to avoid Ralph's blows. "Please, you have to listen to me!"

Just then, the grade 8 PE teacher came up and attempted to stop Ralph. But before he could say anything, Ralph had whipped his elbow back, causing the PE teacher to double over in pain.

"He took out Mr. Murraux," one of the students whispered, "and he had military training!"

After moments of struggling, Len, Dan, and Micah managed to break through the noisy crowd. They pulled Ralph off of Moe after a bit of struggling. He was hard to keep down.

"Let me go!" Ralph screeched, attempting to dig his heels in as he was dragged back, "He's going to pay for what he did to my father! Let me at 'em!"

Moe shakily sat up, with one hand holding his left eye. The principal finally managed to get to the center of the chaos.

"The four of you! Turtles! To the office, now! And you, let's go see the nurse."

"But we didn't–" Dan began.

"NOW!"

Ralph finally got to his feet. He looked as if he was going to attack again, but Len managed to put a hand on his shoulder and, when Ralph looked at him, shook his head. Growling, he allowed himself to be led to the office. Dan and Len looked worried, scared of punishment, while Micah was as energetic as ever.

"School isn't as bad as I thought!" he grinned. Len and Dan simply rolled their eyes.


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting Made

Len, sitting closest to the hallway door, put his head in his hands. Micah sat next to him, bouncing in his seat, then Ralph, who slouched in the chair with his arms folded, and finally Dan, who fidgeted nervously.

"Mother is so not going to be pleased with me," he sighed.

"I can't believe we get in trouble on the first day of school," Micah moaned.

They sat in awkward silence as the secretary kept a wary eye on them. Suddenly, as she started talking on the phone, Dan piped up.

"So, what did you steal?"

Len and Micah stared at him in disbelief. Dan held up his hands in defense. "Well, he told us he was a thief, and I'm just trying to make conversation."

Ralph sighed as Micah face palmed.

"Well, if you want to know," Ralph replied, "One night I got an orange bike from behind this house on Hill Avenue…"

"That was my bike!" Micah gasped, turning to look at Ralph with anger. Dan bit his lip. Not what he had been hoping for.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"…a purple Gameboy I found on a dumpster near the port…"

"So that's where it went!" Dan exclaimed, glaring at Ralph as well. He completely forgot his effort to make conversation.

"…a gold watch I got off this old man on the park… nice one too, a DiGenaro, my dad said."

"My uncle lost his DiGenaro in the park a few weeks ago!" Len cried. He added his look of anger to the mix.

"You know what; _you're_the ones who wanted to know!" Ralph replied hotly.

They sat in silence, frustration radiating between the four of them. Finally Ralph sighed.

"I'm sorry, alright?" he muttered, "I just wanted to please my father."

Len looked at him for a moment, before giving in.

"It's all right, Ralph," he sighed, "You couldn't have helped it. My uncle has tons of watches anyway. The day before, he had discovered that the one you took was a fake. For some reason he didn't throw it out."

"Yeah, and I shouldn't have been so careless with my Gameboy by leaving it out on the dumpster," Dan admitted.

"I guess I should have listened to my parents when they told me to lock up my bike," Micah grinned awkwardly, "At least I got a skateboard out of it!" The four of them laughed, before returning to the silence once more.

"We cool?" Ralph asked finally.

"Yeah," Len nodded, smiling at him. At that moment, Moe came in, followed by the principal. He had a black eye and a bleeding nose, but was otherwise alright. Ralph stood up, and the others prepared to restrain him if necessary.

"Moe wanted to see you, turtle," the principal began. Moe looked at him, an excited look in his eyes.

"I had to tell you, Ralph," he stated quickly, "It wasn't me who got the cops down, it was Snake."

Ralph's eyes widened, before clenching his fists. The principal took a step forwards, in case he attacked again.

"I should have known," he growled, "That jerk would do anything to see me fall!"

"I saw him smirk when the cops showed up," Moe went on, "and that's what I wanted to tell you. It was all Snake's fault."

Ralph went and put his hand on Moe's right shoulder.

"Had my doubts, curly," he admitted, "but you're all right. Thanks for clearing things up. And sorry for whaling on ya."

"You believe me, then?" Moe grinned.

"Hey, I know Snake. It's the type of thing he would do. But I was so shocked, that I actually listened to him and thought you did it. Sorry… buddy."

They high-fived and Moe left the room. The principal proceeded to turn to the four of them.

"Well, that was a happy ending, to say the least," Mr. Mullard grinned, "Since it's the first day, and since everything went okay and got cleared up, I'm just going to let you off with a warning."

"Thank you, sir," Len sighed with relief.

"However, I should warn you, glasses boy, that your actions have not gone unnoticed by your rehabilitation center."

The four of them exchanged shocked looks. Would Ralph still come to school with them?

Noticing their expressions, Mr. Mullard smiled reassuringly. "You'll still come to school, Ralph, and so will Moe," he explained, "but Moe is going to be moved to a different living location. I think it was The Seaside Orphanage for Boys."

"That's where I live!" Dan realized.

Ralph looked downcast. "I guess I deserve that…" he muttered. The bell rang, and the four of them jumped.

"Get to class," the principal ordered, "And try to stay out of trouble."

"Yes, sir!" Len replied as the four of them got up from their chairs.

"Well, that went better than I thought," Dan whispered as they moved through the crowded hallways.

"For sure," Len agreed.

"Hey, we should totally hang tonight!" Micah piped up randomly, "In the park!"

"Why?" Dan questioned.

"'Cuz… that's what friends do?"

"Well, I would like to run an analysis of our DNA and see if there're any similar properties of our internal structure…" Dan mused, "So I'll be there!"

"No idea what you said, brainiac. But if I can sneak out tonight, you'll see me," Ralph nodded.

"What about you, Len?" Micah asked as they entered the classroom.

"My mother might not approve," he winced.

"Then sneak out," Ralph groaned, stating the obvious. Len's eyes widened, before he nodded in defeat.

"All right," he sighed. "I'll sneak out tonight as well."

Ralph nodded in approval as Micah fist bumped Dan.

"Sweet!" he grinned, "Dudes, this is going to be one awesome night!"


	10. Chapter 9: After School

Micah walked with Joey out to the sidewalk as school let out. Joey turned to Micah.

"Too bad we aren't in the same group," Joey sighed. "But it's so cool that there are actually four of you!"

"They're really cool, bro!" Micah grinned, "I wish you were in my group, though, too. But oh well. How's your group doing, anyway?"

"Well, we met after lunch, and it turns out that Moe and Rich each know a turtle. April doesn't, though."

"Cool beans," Micah nodded.

"You didn't get in trouble for that whole disaster, did you?"

"Nah, Mullard let us off easy. Besides, the three of us were trying to get Ralph off of Moe."

"Well, that's good. All mom and dad need is you getting in trouble on the first day."

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought! Shorter than I expected!"

Joey looked nervous. "Uh, Micah? This was just the first day. A half-day. It's twice as long tomorrow; we don't get home until three. And we start getting homework soon."

Micah looked at Joey in agony, before looking up to the sky.

"NOOOOO!"

* * *

Ralph walked slowly. If he had pockets, his hands would be in them. Instead, he just kept his arms folded as he walked towards the rehabilitation center. A man walked directly behind him, making sure he didn't make a run for it.

Not that he wanted to. Where was he going to go? Besides, he wanted to sleep for a bit before he snuck out tonight. Being in the corner had its perks. There was a dirty window right next to his bed, and he had tested it last night. It worked fine. Moarly's didn't have any alarms, because none of the kids wanted to leave, having nowhere to go. Plus, most of them had tracking devices that went off if they left the building. Thankfully, he didn't have one, and hopefully he wouldn't get one, either. But after the day's events, he wasn't too sure of that option anymore. The sidewalks were crowded, full of people and noise. Ralph looked out at the one way street, the cars going the same way he was. They were moving fast, but still being bumper-to-bumper. He shuddered. He wouldn't want to get thrown into that fray.

But it turned out that he didn't really have much of a choice.

He was a hundred yards away from the nearest traffic light. It was currently red, but would change at any moment. For some reason, Ralph was looking at the street again, examining the cars, when a flash of green caught his eye. He stopped. There, near one of the car tires, was a tiny turtle. It had fallen from the hands of a girl crossing the street with her mother. Ralph's eyes widened as he saw the light change green. There was no way that little guy was going to make it.

With a split second decision, Ralph bolted away from his caretaker and into the street. The man immediately took his cellphone and started yelling into it.

"Code red, we've got a runner!" he called, "Repeat, we've got an untagged runner! I'm at–"

He was cut off by the amazement of what happened next. Ralph had darted between the  
parked cars, rolled as the car with the turtle under it began to move, swooped up the turtle, and got to his feet before he could be crushed. He then proceeded to rush to the other side before a blue pickup in the other lane could flatten him.

"Caretaker, do you copy? What's the situation? Come in, caretaker!" came the voice on the phone.

"Er… false alarm, base. Carry on," the man replied, stunned at what he had just seen. Ralph held the baby turtle in his hands as his caretaker rushed to the lights to get to him. He looked for the owners, and saw that the five-year-old girl and her mother were walking away. He rushed up to them and tapped the woman on her shoulder.

The woman nearly screamed, until she saw the baby turtle in his hands. The girl became overjoyed.

"Spike! Where did you go?" she scolded as Ralph placed the tiny reptile in her hands.

"Thank you so much," the woman smiled at him, before getting on her knees and facing her daughter.

The man finally managed to catch up to them. Ralph nodded, before turning to go.

"Honey, that's the fifth time this has happened since you got him last week," he heard the mother say, "I think we should find him a better home."

He heard the girl sigh. "Okay, mommy."

As he walked with the caretaker, the voices faded away. Suddenly the girl's voice rang out.

"Mister Turtle Man!" she called. Ralph looked back, forcing the caretaker to stop once more.

"I want you to have Spike," she said, embarrassed, "He likes you." The mother smiled at him as he held out his hand. She placed Spike in his palm.

"Come here tomorrow and I can give you his things!" the girl grinned. He simply stared at the turtle, before nodding his thanks and walking on.

He didn't know why he had saved the little turtle. But he felt good about it. It was nice to help others, and he felt proud of himself. Earning things was much more rewarding than simply taking them. With a firm resolve, he promised himself to never return to his former thieving self.

* * *

Len and Abigail exited their limo as Jessica came out to meet them.

"How was your first day, my dears?" she smiled.

"Len multiplied," Abigail growled, storming past her. Jessica looked at him with confusion.

"I met some other turtle kids! It was so cool! They're all so nice!" Len explained.

"I'm glad you made friends," Jessica nodded. "Why don't you come inside and tell me all about them?"

"Of course, mother! I'd love to!"

Len followed her inside and into the living room. They sat together on the couch. A plate of seaweed sat on the table as Len proceeded to talk about the day's events, leaving out some details such as the worm and ending up in the office. He figured that there was no reason to worry his mother with things that weren't important.

"Oh, Len? Sorry to interrupt, but I just remembered that I have a surprise for you,"

Jessica interrupted him as he was talking about what Ralph did for Dan at lunch.

"Really?" Len lit up even more, "What is it?"

Jessica slowly got to her feet, and led him towards the stairs. But instead of going towards the kitchen or the second floor, she turned at the door that led to the one place he and Abigail weren't allowed: the basement.

"I had this made up for you," she explained, opening the door and leading him down the stairs. It was very dark; not a single light illuminated the steps, and Len had to hold onto the walls so that he didn't trip. What he saw caused him to gasp in amazement. It was some sort of dojo, with practice dummies and other things scattered about the room.

"What… is this?" he whispered in awe.

"I thought that it would be best to train you in case you ever came across kidnappers, since you're going to school now."

"Sweet!" Len grinned excitedly. "What am I going to learn? Is it like what they show in Space Cadets?"

"You'll see," she smiled mysteriously.

"C-can I show this to my turtle friends if they ever come over?" he asked, looking up at  
her with his big blue eyes. She pondered this for a moment.

"Of course," she nodded finally. "But only them. You can't tell any other kids, and especially not Abigail! It wouldn't be a secret anymore if you told her or others!"

"So it's like…" His eyes shown. "A secret turtle club?"

"That's exactly what it is!" Jessica laughed. "Now go upstairs and finish your snack. Then you can tell me all about the rest of your day."

* * *

Dan hid under his bed. He knew Jeff would be looking for him, and he was not in the mood for getting beat up. Above him sat Moe and Rich. They knew he was there, and were his protection in case Jeff did show up.

At the moment, he was working on duplicating the communicators he had made. He had called them cellphones, but they were more like four-way walkie-talkies. Regardless, he had to finish them tonight. He wanted to give them to his new friends so that they could keep in touch. The way he had designed them was to let them resemble a shell. He already had two finished a few days ago: the original, and one he was going to give to Rich. Dan was nearly finished working on the third, and had already started the fourth. Then, he would only have to synchronize them and they would be ready to go. But as he was putting the finishing touches on the third communicator, he heard an irritating voice, which could only belong to Jeff.

"Hey geeks," he spoke to Moe and Rich, "You see nerd turtle? I have a little surprise for him." Dan heard snapping as Jeff cracked his knuckles.

"I don't see him," Moe said carefully.

"Havn't seen 'im fer a while," Rich added. It was true. Dan had been under there for at least an hour.

"Well, if you see him, tell him that I have a special sandwich for him. Knuckle, with a side of dead meat."

Dan heard footsteps gradually fade away.

"He's gone," Rich called out.

Dan sighed in relief. "Thanks so much, guys. You're the best."

"No problem, Dan," Moe replied, "But you'd better stay under there for a bit longer. And what are you going to do when it's time for bed?"

"No clue," Dan admitted, though in truth he knew exactly what he was going to do. Once he finished his communicators, he would take a nap under the bed, and be fully rested for that night's events. He had his escape perfectly planned. He would first take a couple pillows and arranged them so it looked like he was sleeping. Then, he would take a rock, and place it under the window so that he could open it with ease. Then, he would maneuver his way down the side of the building, and get to the park. When he was done, he could simply climb back up. Or at least, that was the plan. But things never go as expected, do they?


	11. Chapter 10: Meeting in the Park

Ralph caressed the turtle. Spike simply looked up at him and blinked. He had just had a very traumatic experience moments ago, and wasn't letting him out of his sight.

[Flashback]  
_  
Ralph walked into the center, holding the turtle in his left hand. He had been mesmerized by it the entire way home, nearly running into polls and trees because of his distraction. But it was all worth it._

_The problem happened when he walked into the center. The other boys had viewed the turtle as his vulnerability. One moment he was holding the turtle, the next, he watched as Spike was tossed back and forth between boys._

_"Knock it off!" he had shouted, upset._

_The other boys had just ignored him. Becoming desperate, he had body checked one of the other kids, and managed to catch the turtle._

_"Dude, chill out!" The boy he had pushed smirked. "Besides, what are you gonna do when you're at your fancy school? Can't bring him there. I think a turtle soup would suit him nicely, don't you?"_

_Ralph had simply glared at the other boys before going to his bed._

[End Flashback]

"But they're right… " he told Spike, "I can't risk keeping you here with them around. I have to bring you somewhere else."

He thought of his turtle friends. Dan was pretty much in the same predicament he was in. As for Micah, he wouldn't trust him with a plastic bag, let alone a pet. So it all came down to one person: Len.

He got up, and went towards the door. One of the caretakers, the same one that had been with him that afternoon, got up and followed him out.

Ralph headed down the street and towards the richer part of town. He had to see Len. It was the only way to keep Spike safe. He knew the caretaker would be suspicious about what he was going to do, but he'd just have to take that chance.

Len had told them his address before, so they could wait for him tonight. But he had another use for this information.

For some reason, as he walked up to the front door, the caretaker didn't follow him. Ralph knocked impatiently.

"Come on, Len," he muttered to himself, "this is important."

The door opened, but instead of Len, Abigail stared at him.

"I'm looking for Len," he explained.

With a moan of disgust, she attempted to close the door, but Ralph stuck out his hand and prevented it from slamming in his face.

"Now," he growled.

Rolling her eyes, she opened the door for him to come in.

"Upstairs, second door on the left," she told him coolly.

Nodding, he followed her instructions, while gawking at the fancy interior that lay before him. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"Nice digs," he murmured, knocking on Len's door.

"Come in!" his friend's voice called out.

Ralph obliged, and stared in wonder at the fancy room that housed his friend.

"Dude, you've been holding out on us!" Ralph grinned, stepping inside.

"Ralph?!" Len gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I need a favour, and I can't stay long, or my caretaker will get suspicious." He showed Len the turtle in his hand.

"This is Spike. I can't risk having him at my place, unless I want turtle stew for dinner after school."

Len looked at Spike curiously. "Where'd you get him?"

"He was a gift. I saved him from becoming a turtle pancake. The owner – a five-year-old girl – gave him to me as thanks, since she couldn't care for him properly."

"So you need me to look after him," Len guessed.

"You got it," Ralph nodded, "You're smarter than you look."

"Not saying much, because I look like you," Len smirked.

"Watch it, Len. Anyway, see you tonight," Ralph nodded, before turning to leave, "And if anything happens to him, you're turtle soup."

"You sure like using food metaphors, don't you?"

* * *

Micah sat up in his bed. Joey was on the other side of their room, asleep. His parents had checked up on them for the last time tonight. It was now or never.

As quietly as he could, he slipped to the window. He had to be extra careful, because their things littered the floor.

_Times like this I wish we actually did clean up!_he winced as he stepped on an action figure. He nearly cried out, but managed to contain himself.

He opened the window and slipped onto the shed. With a graceful jump, he was on the ground.

_Sweet…_Micah took his skateboard and began rolling down the sidewalk towards the park.

* * *

Dan looked up from the ground. Amazingly, he had managed to sneak out without anyone waking up. He looked at the bag in his hands. It contained the communicators, and a DNA scanner he had cooked up at the last minute.

"Now I just have to get to the park," he murmured to himself. Keeping to the shadows, he rushed through the streets and managed to get to the park without incident. He was the last one to arrive.

"Took you long enough, brainaic!" Ralph called from where he was leaning against a tree. Len was sitting on a bench near him.

"Nice of you to make it, Dan!" he grinned.

"Likewise," Dan nodded, "Where's Micah?"

In answer, Len gestured towards a fountain. Dan saw a flash of orange and green. Micah was on his skateboard, shredding the fountain as he waited. Seeing that Dan had showed up, he jumped out of the fountain and rolled towards them.

"This skateboard is so much cooler than my bike," he grinned, "Thanks, Ralph!"

Dan rolled his eyes as he opened the bag that he had brought.

"I got the communicators," he announced as he began handing them out, "and the DNA scanner."

"Nice design," Len approved, looking at the turtle-shaped phone.

"Shell Cell!" Micah cried out suddenly.

"What are you blabbing about?" Ralph sighed.

"We can't keep calling them communicators," he argued, "They've got to have a cool nickname! Dan said they were like cell phones, and they look like turtle shells, so why not Shell Cell?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Ralph moaned.

"I think it's kind of catchy!" Len argued.

"A little unscientific, but it will suit the need for a name," Dan agreed.

"Shell cell it is!" Micah grinned.

Len turned back to Dan. "So what do we have to do with this DNA scanner thing?"

Dan proceeded to hand a petri dish to each turtle. "I was going to do a blood sample, but I didn't think Ralph would agree with that." The hothead smirked. "So all you have to do is salivate into one of these, and I'll be able to do the scan."

The others complied, spitting into their respective petri dishes as Dan readied the machine.

"Hey guys," Len began as he handed Dan his petri dish, "My mother made this awesome training room for me at my place. Do you want to come over this weekend and try it out?"

"I've got nothing to do," Ralph smirked, "I'll be there."

"Count me in!" Micah nodded.

"Me too," Dan agreed, "By the way, what kind of training room is it?"

"It's for battle!" Len explained, causing the others to light up in excitement.

"Sweet," Ralph grinned in approval.

"So, while we wait for the results," Dan looked up from his machine, "What's the furthest thing you guys remember?"

"Running," the three of them answered simultaneously. They all exchanged shocked glances.

"Duuude," Micah whispered, "That's just freaky…"

"And it's about to get freakier," Dan piped up as the results appeared on his machine.

"What do you mean?" Len asked.

"It turns out that our DNA is startlingly similar, with few differences," Dan explained, "There are traces of some sort of strange chemical, as well. I've never seen anything like it."

"In English, brainaic?" Ralph growled.

"We're mutated turtles. And… we're brothers."

The others gasped in shock. Different thoughts started running through different minds.

_Whoa, mutant?_ Micah grinned, _Sweet! Do I have superpowers?_

_Well,_ Ralph mused, _that would explain why Len was being so fatherly. He was actually being… brotherly._

_Wow, _Len blinked, _I actually have brothers! And friends! In one day!_

"But we should keep this to ourselves," Dan warned, "The mutant thing and the brother thing. For our own protection."

The three nodded. Len then turned to his brothers.

"Going back to that night, I remember that there were footsteps. But they faded after a bit."

"I know that it was in the alleys," Ralph added.

"I went to the streets right away, and we were near the port," Dan realized.

"I think there was blue stuff, and glass, too," Micah pondered, "but that's all I got."

The four of them reflected on what little they knew of their past in silence. Finally, Micah spoke up once more, a mischievous grin on his face.

"So who wants to race?"

* * *

"Not again!"

"Dan, keep up, dude! You keep losing!"

"Slow down, Len!"

"Can't, bro! That's why it's called a race!"

"Argh!"

"I win again."

They had been in the park for a few hours, alternating between races and hide-and-seek. Though skilled at hide-and-seek, Dan was last when it came to races. That was Micah's territory. However, Micah was very bad at hiding, or staying quiet, so he was almost always found first.

"No fair," Dan moaned, "You're way more agile than me."

Len simply smirked as he stretched. "Face it, bro, you need to keep up. Plus, I work out with my mother each week."

"I worked out every day when I worked on the streets," Ralph added.

"I'm just talented," Micah grinned. The others glared at him.

"What?!"

"Hey, rich boy," Ralph ignored Micah and turned to Len, "It's getting late. We should get your expensive butt home before someone takes it for ransom."

"Oh, ha ha, Ralph," Len retorted, "I can take care of myself. But you're right; if we don't get back soon, people will start noticing that we're gone."

Dan packed up his DNA scanner as the others went their separate ways. "See you in a few hours!"


	12. Chapter 11: Training Begins

Friday finally came, and Ms. Parkson could already see patterns emerging in the students. She could begin to tell each student's strengths and weaknesses.

For example, no one was more studious than Daniel. He excelled in all subjects, but lagged behind a bit in gym. He was very intelligent and gifted, and could probably even skip a few grades if he wanted, but didn't appear to desire this, choosing to nobly stick to his friends rather than advancing his own knowledge. However, he did tend to overthink simple things, and sometimes spent hours pondering on questions when only a few minutes were needed.

Leonard was another intelligent student. Though he couldn't compare to Daniel in math, technology, or science, he seemed to do exceptionally well in English. He was very poetic and culturally knowledgeable, and, though rich, he was humble, always trying to put others first, while still obeying the rules. But he did seem to be a bit unsure of himself, usually one of the last to finish a test or an assignment in class. He was also a little too stuck on rules, irritating his friends at times, and because of this, didn't usually get creative with his work. But he tried.

Ralph spent most of his time staring out the window, possibly fantasizing. He never removed his glasses, so Ms. Parkson could never tell if he was paying attention or not when his head was tilted a certain way. But she never asked him to take them off. He wasn't exactly a model student, rarely doing his homework, and got frustrated easily. But he was the strongest in gym, always the first picked. His team always won, but the teacher didn't know if this was because of his skills, or because the other team didn't want to see what would happen if he lost. He hated losing.

Micah was definitely special, and possibly one of the wildest students she'd ever met. But in a good way. He had tons of raw talent, but didn't seem to do anything to nurture it. Like Ralph, he didn't do his homework either. However, he was pretty creative; his strongest subject being art. He was a natural Picasso. He was also very good at making excuses. He had the potential, but lacked the motivation to do anything about it.

The turtles definitely baffled her, but they were still students, and she would do her best to help these strange kids to realize their abilities, and their true potentials.

-

The turtles had all had interesting weeks, Dan had had trouble climbing the tree that night, nearly being caught by Elizabeth, Ralph had gotten Spike's things, which consisted of a plate and a pool, Len had begun training, and Micah had won an art contest at school. It was finally Friday afternoon, and they were all going to meet at Len's house, as planned, to see his new training room. The excited turtle rushed to the door as he heard the bell ring.

"'Sup, rich boy?"

"Ralph! So glad you could make it!"

"I wanted to see Spike before the others got here."

"Go right ahead." Len shut the door as Ralph rushed up the stairs. A moment later, the doorbell rang once more.

"Dude, sweet digs!" Micah approved as he and Dan entered the foyer. "Ralphie here yet?"

"Don't call me that," came the growling answer. The fourth turtle walked down the stairs. "So where's this fancy dojo you told us about?"

In reply, Len led them to the basement door. "Watch your step," he warned. Keeping his hand on the wall, he went down the stairs, with the others following close behind. They soon reached the training room.

"Whoa," Dan gasped, "This is so cool!"

To their surprise, Jessica was waiting for them, sitting cross-legged on a red mat. She wore a pink kimono. "This is my mother, Jessica," Len introduced, "Mother, these are my br… friends, Dan, Ralph, and Micah."

Jessica nodded her greetings. Then, signalling for them to approach, they began training.

-

Every day was the same for the turtles: wake up, school, training, go home. Jessica found that they were quick learners, each with their own way to remember. Len could train more than the others, and was the most agile, so he was thus more skilled at first. But Ralph was catching up. Jessica had learned that he had exercised vigorously each and every day, before school had started and he had been forced to move to a new home. Len used to always win the matches, but Ralph was starting to beat him, being the strongest of the four. Then there was Dan. With his exceptional mind, he had no trouble remembering the moves. It was executing them that posed a challenge. Dan was a bit behind the others physically, but still showed initiative and tried his best regardless.

Last but certainly not least was Micah, the fastest of the four, physically and wittily. The first day he had showed exceptional talent, able to perform moves on the first try. But the turtle lacked the will of his companions. He seemed more interested in entertainment than learning. Jessica smiled as she thought about the wild turtle. He would probably be the first to view training as work, but hopefully he would keep coming, and continue learning, if his friends did.

The four turtles were certainly amazing, to say the least. With a bit more training, she could start teaching them harder moves, and soon they would begin to learn two-on-two in order for them to become more skilled at working together.

But, as I said earlier, things never go as expected, do they?

-

It was the second week of school. The four turtles had finally gotten a homework free day, and had decided to meet together once more. However, this time, it would be at a warehouse near the port that Dan knew about. The orphanage owned it and the building was supposed to be used for storage, but they never had gotten around to using it. So instead, it simply stood in silence, a constant location on the Real Estate page. They never could sell it.

"Here we are," Dan whispered, opening the door.

"I still don't see why we had to come here…" Ralph muttered, "The park is much nicer, and bigger. We can talk normally, too. Plus, it's closer for rich boy. If something happens to him we're so getting sued."

"Hey, if anything happens to anyone, it'll be Micah," Len retorted, "He's the most childish."

"Not my fault I'm so chill!" Micah grinned, holding his skateboard.

"I brought you here for a reason!" Dan growled, startling the others with the fierceness in his voice. Dan was usually so quiet and timid.

"Jessica has been trying to train us in the art of stealth, correct?" The others nodded in agreement.

"So where better to practice than in an abandoned warehouse?"

"I don't see your logic," Len tilted his head.

"It's easy to be found in a park, because there's lights everywhere. But in an old warehouse, there are no lights, so we have to rely on our other senses. It's a better training location compared to a park. Plus, we'll get to practice in a different terrain, one that none of us are familiar with. I've never been in here, either, so don't get any ideas that I'd get an advantage." Ralph closed his mouth.

"Now I get it," Len nodded, "Good idea! Let's give it a shot!"

They'd been training for about an hour when the disaster struck.


	13. Chapter 12: Disaster and Discovery

One moment they were racing each other across the building, the next, flames consumed empty wooden crates and filled the warehouse.

"How did this happen?!" Len screeched, moving back from a crate that had just burst into flames.

"I… I don't know! There's no open flames allowed in this area!" Dan cried.

"Dude, my board!" Micah snatched up his board before the flames could leap onto it.

"We have to get out of here!" Ralph growled, "The whole place is coming apart!"

"There's no way out!" Dan gasped as a flaming pile of wood fell in front of the only door left. "The windows are too high, there's no water to put it out in here, and by the time the fire department shows up, we'll be turtle toast!" They watched as the flames surrounded them and began pressing in.

"Look! A manhole cover!" Len pointed to the metal object a few feet away.

"In a warehouse?!" Dan asked, shocked.

"Don't question it, genius!" Ralph hissed, "Just move!"

The four of them managed to remove the cover fairly easily. It wasn't too hot, and, one by one, slipped down into the sewers. Ralph was the last one down, pulling the cover shut right before a crate fell where they had been standing. He climbed down the ladder and splashed into the sewer water. The other three stared at him.

"What?!" he asked, irritated.

"You're glasses…" Len began awkwardly.

"What about my glasses?" Ralph's hand went to his face.

"They're gone!" Micah finished, as Ralph reached the same conclusion.

"Oh, shoot!" he stamped his foot, splashing Dan.

"Watch it," he whined. "You'll get my goggles wet, and –" Dan felt the top of his head. "They're gone, too!"

"So is my bowtie," Len cried.

"And my hat!" Micah grumbled, "At least I still have my board…"

"I've got to go back!" Ralph headed towards the ladder. At that moment, a boom shook the sewer pipe they were in. The four of them froze.

"Let it go, man," Micah whispered sympathetically, "We've got to get out of here."

"For once, Micah's right," Len smirked, before becoming serious. "We need to find a way out of these sewers. Let's go."

Ralph turned silently, rage radiating from his fierce green eyes. The four of them began walking through the sewers, having no idea what lay ahead.

-

"Find a ladder yet?"

"Not yet, but it's so hard to see down here. This is why I wanted to train at the warehouse."

"We wouldn't be _in_ this mess if you hadn't insisted on going there!"

"Dudes, can we take a break? I'm exhausted. And starving."

"You're always starving. Suck it up and keep walking."

"No need to be so rude."

"He's just cranky because he lost his glasses and we can see his eyes now."

"Would you stop talking about it?"

"Dudes, do you smell that? It smells like… rats!"

The four of them stopped, exhausted. Ralph began looking around as Micah sat on the elevated walkway that stood above the water in which they stood. Ralph scraped something off the ground and handed it to Micah.

"Here, have a worm," he offered.

Micah sighed. "Thanks, bro." He ate it gratefully.

"Quiet," Len ordered suddenly, "I hear something."

They backed up fearfully as quiet footsteps approached from the upcoming corner. As a shadow was cast into the tunnel, a voice emanated from the pipe up ahead.

"Please, do not be afraid," came the voice. It was male, and sounded calm enough. "I am a friend."

"Who are you?" Ralph took a step forwards, protecting his brothers.

"My name," the man stepped into the dim light, "Is Splinter."

The turtles gasped as the light revealed, not a man, but a giant, talking, rat!

"Dude! You're a rat! And you talk!" Micah murmured in awe.

"And you are talking turtles," Splinter smiled, "We are not too different from each other."

"What do you want from us?" Ralph growled, glaring. Len, however, took a different approach.

"Can you help us get out of here?"

"I'm afraid, my sons, that getting out of here is something I do not desire you to do."

Ralph's eyes widened in anger. "So you're going to keep us prisoner here?! News flash, turtles aren't very good on the market. My father's –"

"In jail, I am aware," Splinter finished. Ralph was awestruck. "How did you…"

Dan interrupted him. "Why did you call us your sons?"

"I do not wish to keep you prisoner here, but I wish to protect you," the rat explained. "As for your question, Daniel…" The genius gasped as the rat said his name.

"I am your father."

"No… way…" Len whispered.

"Come with me, and I will explain everything." The rat turned and led them through the pipe. Soon, they reached an abandoned subway station. There, Splinter explained the turtles' origins.

"So you see, I meant to take you to the sewers, but you all ran off. And so, I contacted the people you were living with as you grew older, and you would have soon been ready to meet me."

"That's why Jessica made us the training room," Len realized.

"And why my father bought me all that exercise equipment."

"And why Elizabeth was always getting me technology and books whenever she could!"

"My parents didn't do anything for me…" Micah sighed, down-heartened.

"Your parents, unfortunately, didn't believe me. But I knew Jessica, and your father, Ralph, when I was younger. Jessica was always very studious and hardworking. And Mr. Saia was a very kind man, though a bit misguided for a while. But, I believe he's come to his senses."

"And Elizabeth?" Dan asked.

"I didn't know her originally," Splinter admitted, "I suppose she simply saw your thirst for knowledge. But Ms. Parkson knew about me, and tried to teach you, and learn about you, when I couldn't. That is why the four of you were in the same group. I only wish you could have met sooner. And I also wish that your training could have begun sooner as well."

"But why do we have to stay down here?" Ralph asked, no longer suspicious.

"The surface world isn't ready for you yet. Though you lived there long, very few have actually seen you. It's for your own protection if we stay down here."

Nodding in agreement, the four of them began to explore their new home.

"Two more things," Splinter called, "You must know your true names."

The brothers exchanged excited looks.

"Leonard, or Len, you will now be known as Leonardo."

"I like it! Sounds cultural!"

"Ralph, you will now be known as Raphael."

The hothead smirked. "Nice, Splinter! Has a good punch to it!"

"Daniel, from now on you will be known as Donatello."

"It's got a smart ring to it!"

"And Micah… your name will be Michelangelo."

"Wild!"

Raphael suddenly remembered something. "Um… Splinter? Is it alright if we go to the surface, just one last time?"

Splinter looked surprised, and pondered this for a moment. He supposed he should give them a chance.

"Alright," he nodded, "But I shall come with you. We will go tomorrow night. Then we won't return to the surface until you are truly ready."

"Thank you… dad."

Splinter felt his eyes moist up.

"And the second thing," he quickly turned to a drawer behind him. "This is what the chemical was in. The chemical that made us what we are." He showed them a broken cylinder container. The four of them stared at it, before Michelangelo grinned and gave it a hug.

"Mom!"

Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo all face palmed in frustration.


	14. Epilogue

It had been a week since the fire that had devastated the warehouse. Raphael stood staring at the television Master Splinter, as they now called him, had set up in the main room of their new home. Since their arrival, they had been given their ninja masks, colours relating to the colours of the items they had apparently lost in the fire: Raphael's being red, Leonardo's being blue, Donatello's being purple, and Michelangelo's being orange.

The night that they had gone back to the surface for what would be the last time in another five years had been fairly uneventful. They had all gotten items that meant most to them. For Raphael, that had been Spike and his food bowl. He had left the bed behind. For Leonardo, he had brought his only Space Cadets comic, and the books Jessica had given him on Japanese language, culture, and Ninjistu. For Donatello, he had taken his tools and devices, filling two bags and carrying the rest. Michelangelo had taken the most: his entire video game, action figure, and comic book collection, and spare parts and tools for his skateboard.

Leonardo entered the room as Raphael smirked at the giant mess of Michelangelo's comics. "Hey, Raph. What are you watching?"

"News, Leo. They're finally doing it."

"Hey, Don, Mikey! They're doing it!"

The other two entered the room at stood next to their brothers. The female announcer's voice echoed in the chamber as Raph turned up the volume.  
_  
"In other news, the cause of the fire that broke out last week at a warehouse near the port has finally been discovered. Arson was confirmed, the perpetrator has proven to be Jeffery Hasselhorn, a sixteen-year-old resident of The Seaside Orphanage for Boys."  
_  
The brothers exchanged looks of surprise. No one would have ever suspected that Jeff would have gone to such lengths to get payback on the turtles.

_"The reason behind this crime was simple: revenge. Apparently, he felt humiliated by four boys in turtle costumes, and was going to put glue in the bed of the one staying at the orphanage with him. However, discovering the kid, Daniel Bosta, had disappeared, he followed him to the warehouse, where he committed his terrible crime, supposedly claiming the lives of the four boys. The only things found of the boys were a blue bowtie, red sunglasses, purple goggles, an orange hat, and bits of the turtle costumes. However, before these items could be claimed by their parents, the warehouse fell to the ground, covering the items and everything else inside. No trace of the boys could be found, though it is highly improbable that they could have survived the ordeal."_

Raph smirked as the news report continued with some other stories. "Talk about burying the past. And I can't believe they thought we were just kids in turtle suits."

"I can't believe Jeff did it!" Donnie added. "We never would have found Splinter if he hadn't, though."

"Can't help feeling sorry for the guy, though," Leo murmured, "He takes years to build up a reputation, then one hotheaded turtle comes along and breaks it in a day."

"Thanks for the compliment."  
_  
"In other news, we've received the results for the trial of Mr. Saia and his team of thieves."  
_  
Raph immediately turned to the television, worried. "Everyone be quiet."  
_  
"Mr. Saia and his companions have been found guilty of high theft. However, due to his turning in of his friends, Mr. Snake Barra's sentence will be reduced to twenty-four months, while the rest will be kept for a minimum of ten to fifteen years."  
_  
Raph's eye twitched, before he burst.

"No! That's so not fair!" he growled, "My father… I mean, Mr. Saia's a kind man! He was just a bit misguided!"

"It's okay, Raph," Leo comforted his brother as Don switched off the TV, "He'll get his just desserts."

"Thanks, bro," Raph sighed. "You're right."

"For now, let's just focus on training to be ninjas. Master Splinter wants us to train some more before dinner," Don agreed.

"And soon, we'll be ninja turtles!" Mikey grinned.

The others smiled and exchanged high fives. "Ninja turtles!"

And they all lived happily ever after.

…

How cliché of me. We all know of the adventure that happens next.

But for four brothers, especially ninja turtle brothers, simply living happily ever after is never good enough, is it?

* * *

My first story done! I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are greatly appreciated!

And if you didn't like it, tell me why! I'm always looking to improve. Or you can always write your own. Your choice.


	15. Author's Note

**For those of you who enjoyed this story, I'm glad that you did!**

**Just to let you all know, there will be a 2 to this.**

**I'd also like to mention a story that I'm working on right now. It's a crossover, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**It's called Traveller's Tales: Race Against Time.**

**Yeah, the title needs work.**

**Anyway, if you enjoyed this story, then go check it out!**


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